Cross Country Trip

[Drooby]

Fellow Bimmer owners,

I am moving next weekend from Salt Lake City, UT to New York City . (this is a job transfer)
I decided instead of shipping my car and renting one there waiting for it to arrive , I will drive it instead .
I plan to stop in denver , kansas city (relative), Mid-Ohio (relative), then in the Virginia Washington-DC area before I reach NYC,

With the stops , the trip looks like about 2500 Miles.I will be alone with my luggage (hopefully I wont sleep on the road)
I hope to have the same fun on the highway as I have city driving.

My 525 has about 102K miles on it now and in the last 1.5 months I have :

Changed the oil + Oil filter. (mobile 1 10W30)
Changed the air + fuel Filter (Fram I think)
Changed the cabin filter. (Bosch)
Changed the most part (about 1.5 Gallons) of the coolant (BMW blue stuff)
Changed the Transmission Fluid ( gaskets + filter ... but NO tranney flush)

The tires have about 52k on them (they are warrantied to 60k)

I am planning to change the Oil Again before I go (it has about 2.5k onit)
Any other suggessions to prepare for the trip??
Also what oil should I put in , (probably it will be replaced within a month anyway - so I am thinking 5w30 now(for the trip) and 10w50 for the summer in a month) - IF I AM WRONG ABOUT THIS PLEASE SOMEONE CORRECT ME.

thanks in advance for the feedback
Drooby

[Drooby]

Come'on Guys ..... NO TIPS AT ALL ??

[Kamil]

Come'on Guys ..... NO TIPS AT ALL ??

I'm planning a cross-country vacation type trip in the 535 within a few months.
I have a to-do and to-bring list at home. I'll post it later for you, since I'm in the office now.

-K

[KenB]

I would use heavier oil, 10w-40 or 15w-50, or even 20w-50. Make sure your tires are in good shape including your spare. I have made dozens of cross country trips and the only problem I ever had was with a tire that had a weak valve stem. The excessive heat caused it to leak slowly and ruined a tire. Brand new tires and they didn't replace the valve stem. Had to find a tire dealer in the middle of Nebraska to get a warranty replacement.

Good luck, have a great trip, you will love the car on the open road. Watch out for the lunatics around DC. :-)

[Drooby]

I would use heavier oil, 10w-40 or 15w-50, or even 20w-50. Make sure your tires are in good shape including your spare. I have made dozens of cross country trips and the only problem I ever had was with a tire that had a weak valve stem. The excessive heat caused it to leak slowly and ruined a tire. Brand new tires and they didn't replace the valve stem. Had to find a tire dealer in the middle of Nebraska to get a warranty replacement.

Good luck, have a great trip, you will love the car on the open road. Watch out for the lunatics around DC. :-)

Really ... Heavier Oil for the Open Road ?
I thought since its not "stop & go" driving a light Oil would be better.

[dave b]

I cross countried twice a few years ago, from Los Angeles to Raleigh (actually, I did a true coast to coast at one point - Santa Monica to Wilmington, NC - Pacific to Atlantic) which was about 2800+ miles each way. Then I went back out to LA.

I did a full inspection I before I set out eastbound. If you look at the inspection I checklist, it's really just staring at a bunch of stuff and checking the fluids. About 1 hour more than an oil change. I would get new tires if I were you, just so you don't have to worry about it on the road. I had also done a water pump change and coolant flush so you may want to do that as well. The more you do, the less you'll worry about. I had a copilot on the eastbound way, but he only drove about 15 minutes. The rest we just chilled and enjoyed the trip. We stopped in New Orleans for a few days, and then made our way up to NC. It doesn't sound like you'll go that way...

Before starting out westbound, I did an inspection II (I was due), changed the brake pads and rotors (I was due for that also), and flushed the brake fluid (also due). Just check out the status of your maintenance, and anything that would be due right after your trip, do it before your trip.

We had no issues with the car at all, except for a speeding ticket in Texas (those 15 minutes of driving my copilot did took care of that). I used the same oil as usual - 15W50 (or whatever the red capped Mobil 1 is).

It's fun - enjoy it.

[632 Regal]

use the 0w40 mobil one. As long as your car takes it's normal daily adventures in stride you should be fine on the open road. Closley inspect the basics like hoses, belts fluid levels etc. Dont need to pop a belt in the middle somewhere.
Good luck!
Jeff